1. Civilizations
For over 3,000 thousand years (1500 BC – 1530 AD) natives of the Americas developed independently from the rest of the world.
Mayans
Toltec
Aztecs
Incas

2. Mayans May date as early as 2000 BC, but flourished 300-900 AD
Yucatan Peninsula
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador
Polytheistic
Religious rituals revolved around agricultural seasons

3. Mayans System of Writing and Mathematics
Used Bricks, Mortar, and Stucco
Use of Zero
Hieroglyphic Writings
Accurate Calendar
Elaborate Art
Frescoes
Great Cities
Astronomical Observatories
Movement of Planets

4. Toltec 750-900 AD Central Mexican Highlands Invaded Mayan territory
Extensive Trading Network
Copper bells and turquoise
Massive buildings and pyramids
Painted ceramics
Metalwork in gold and copper

5. Aztecs Flourished late 1100’s, warlike (1200-1521 AD)
Central and Southern Mexico
Warrior group with rigid class structure and slaves
Borrowed ideas from conquered people
Forced conquered people to pay tribute, used prisoners as daily human sacrifices to gods

6. Aztecs Accomplishments Manuscripts Elaborate irrigation systems
Hillside terracing for agriculture
Metalwork in gold and silver
Semiprecious stones as jewelry
Artificial lakes, causeways, island cities – Tenochtitlan
Astronomy and Mathematics
Developed a calendar and counting system

7. Incas AD
Peru, and parts of Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina
Warlike and farming culture with a rigid class system
Extensive Empire with twelve million inhabitants
Animistic in Nature – sun god, rain god, etc.

8. Incas Accomplishments Extensive road network
Quipu – system of measurement and record keeping, knotted string, no writing
Hillside terracing for irrigation and agriculture
Medical knowledge of surgery and diseases
Elaborate building and engineering feats